Domestic appliance



May 7, 1963 N- J. BULLOCK DOMESTIC APPLIANCE Filed Sept. 9, 1960 5Sheets-Sheet 1 I 3'2 N 0/7776) U 06 Fig.2 BY

His Afforney May 7, 1963 N. J. BULLOCK DOMESTIC APPLIANCE 3 Sheets-Sheet2 Filed Sept. 9, 1960 Fig. 3

INVENTOR. Norman J. Bullock His Affamey 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 9,1960 o 8 .(m 0 8 J l i O 8 2 7 \IIS 7. M 0 8 Fig. 5

INVENTOR. Norman J. Bullock n VL 3,0885% DOMESTIC APPLIANCE Norman J.Bullock, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit,Micln, a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 9, 1960, Ser. No. 55,066 1Claim. (Cl. 21(l-382) This invention relates to a domestic appliance andmore particularly to an improved clothes guard ring for a spin tub.

In the prior art, some spin tubs having imperforate bottoms and acircumferentially arranged plurality of outflow ports at the top thereofare provided with clothes guard rings which overlie the outflow ports toprevent blockage thereof. One such guard ring is taught in the Patent toJohnston et al. 2,956,684, issued October 18, 1960, and assigned to thesame assignee as the instant invention. All the prior art guard ringshave been metallic to withstand the stresses involved in a centrifugingdevice. This relatively rigid construction requires further modificationof the ring in order to facilitate installation of the ring within aspin tub. However, in the mass production of laundry appliances, thecost of manufacturing and installing metallic clothes guard rings isconsiderable and it is to the solution of this adverse cost and otherproblems that the present invention is directed.

Accordingly, it is an object of this problem to provide an improvedmoldable clothes guard for a spin basket.

It is another object of this invention to provide a spin basket havingoutflow ports around an upper portion thereof with a plastic clothesguard ring supported on said basket by integral protuberances whichextend into certain of said ports.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a one-piececlothes guard ring which can be installed in a spin basket after thebasket is assembled.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings wherein preferred embodiments of the present invention areclearly shown.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary sectional view partly in elevation of aclothes washing machine suitable for use with this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of a spin tub provided with oneform of this invention;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of a spin tub provided withanother form of this invention;

FIGURE 4 is a top elevational view of the preferred clothes guard ringof this invention;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary view taken along line 5-5 in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 in FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 7 is a schematic view representing the method of installing theguard ring of this invention.

In accordance with this invention and with reference to FIGURE 1, afragmentary sectional view of a clothes washer It) is illustrated. Aclothes washer of the type suitable for use with this invention mayinclude a top wall 1-2 having a recessed shoulder 14 terminating in anaccess collar or opening 16. A door 18 may be hingedly mounted to thecabinet top 12 for opening and closing the access collar 16 in theclothes washer cabinet. Within the clothes washer 10, a spin tubassembly 20 is rotatably disposed. An agitator 22 is carried inside thetub assembly 2%) and an agitating and spinning mechanism 24 is adaptedto selectively rotate the tub assembly 20 or vertically reciprocate theagitator 22.

3,988,595 Patented May 7, 1963 ice The spin tub or basket assembly 20 iscomprised of an imperforate tub bottom or water container portion 26, anannular tub rim housing or collar 28, and an annular tub rim 30. The tubrim housing 28 is formed with 21 depending flange 32 which is weldedabout its periphery to the upper edge of the tub bottom 26. The tub rimhousing 28 also defines the spin tub access opening 34 and a pluralityof circumferentially arranged outflow ports 36. Further, the tub rimhousing 28 is formed with a bottom shoulder 35 between the accessopening collar 34 and the outflow ports 36. In order to form a chamber38 for receiving a ballast material, such as hematite ore, the tub rim30 is welded along an upturned annular flange to the collar 34 of thetub rim housingthe lower end of the tub rim being welded to the tub rimhousing just above the outflow ports 36.

When the spin tub 20 is rotated, water is centrifuged therefrom by wayof the outflow ports 36 into a water containerthe sub-top or coverportion 40 of which is seen in FIGURE 1. The sub-top 40 has anupstanding annular radially inner flange for supporting a flexible guardcollar or sleeve 42 in axial alignment with the cabinet access collar 16and the tub access opening collar 34. The flexible collar 42 ispositioned closely adjacent the tub access opening 34 to preventarticles of clothing from being flung out of the spin tub into the watercontainer. As the spin tub 20 is rotated, the water will tend to climbthe upwardly and outwardly tapered side walls of the tub bottom 26 andwill eject through the outflow ports 36. However, where too many clothesare placed within the spin tub 20, certain of the articles may findtheir way into blocking engagement with the outflow ports 36. If thishappens, the clothing acts as a dam and the centrifuged water tends tobe thrown out of the tub access opening 34 and into the water container.For this reason, a clothes guard ring shown generally at 44 ispositioned on a bias between the shoulder 35 of the tub rim housing andthe imperforate tub bottom 26. The ring 44 serves to prevent articles ofclothing from blocking the outflow ports 36.

In the prior art, the clothes guard rings 44 were formed of metal orother high stress material in order to withstand the forces ofcentrifuging. Similarly, the prior art clothes guard rings were for-medin a manner which required their installation within the spin tub 20while the spin tub was being assembled. The aforementioned patent taughtone means whereby a jointed guard ring could be positioned within thespin tub after the tub was manufactured. However, the metallic guardring of the copending application was expensive to manufacture andincluded a means of locking the disjointed ring together once installedwithin the spin tub. Both the cost of manufacturing this metal ring andthe cost of locking the ends of the ring together were undesirable and acheaper, more eflicient guard ring installation was sought. Further, theprior art metallic rings required a plurality of welding operationswherever the concentric rings were joined together. All this added tothe cost of the prodnot in the highly competitive clothes Washingmachine market. Thus a new type guard ring was conceived in accordancewith the teachings of this invention. There was required, first, a guardring which could be installed simply and quickly within a completed spintub. Secondly, the guard ring must be inexpensive to manufacture and,thirdly, the guard ring must be able to withstand the temperatures ofclothes washing liquids and the pressures and stresses involved incentrifuging.

With reference to FIGURE 2, the guard ring 44- is shown comprised of aone-piece, unitary or integral, molded plastic ring having a radiallyinner V-shaped ring 50, a radially outer V-shaped ring 52 and anintermediate V-shaped'ring 54. Spaced about the periphery of theconcentrically arranged rings 50, '52 and 54 are a plurality of radiallydirected integral ribs 56. In addition to joining the ribs, the radialconnector 56 includes a ,protu-berance or attachment lug 58 whichextends into certain of .the outflow .ports v36 .when the ring '44- isin- .stalled within the spin vtub20. Note that the innermost ringSGrestson the shoulder 35 of the tub rim housing .28, thereby forming anannular generally triangularly shaped chamber-60 whichisinconstantcommunication 'ndth.the..outflow.port 3-6 of the spin tub. Fabric or ar-.ticlesofclothing are prevented by the ribs 50, 52 and 54 ,from enteringthe chamber .60 and blocking the outflow .ports 36.

I .A.preferred embodiment of this invention is shown as a clothes guardring 70, more particularly illustrated in .FIGURES 3, 4, 5 and 6. Theguard ring 70 is formed of azthermoplastic, such as polypropylene-aplastic resin whichdoes not softenor distort below approximately 25 0 F.Since the maximum -water temperatures Within a clothes washer suitablefor use with this invention do .notexceed 180 F., the selection ofpolypropylene is .eonsideredsatisfactory for use with this invention.The clothes guard ring -70 includes a radially inner V-shaped .ring 72,aradiallyouter V-shaped ring 74 and an intermediate V-shaped ring 76,all of which rings are con- ..centric one wit-h .the other. Spacedcircumferentially about the concentric rings are integral radiallydirected .connectorribs 78 whichhave an outer mounting or toe portion.80 which interfits with the bottom of an outflow :port 36' to hold thering 70 in proper relationship with thespin tub.

Although one would believe that plastic is Wholly in compatible as aguard ring ina-centrifuging device where elevated temperatures areincurred, the construction of .the guard ring 70 is found to possess allof the attributes necessary for preventing blockage of the tub outflow,ports. The .guard ring 70 is designed to be moldable .in-a one-piececonstruction and-thus can be manufactured at extremely .low cost. Tofacilitate the molding and .stress requirements of the guard ring 70'(FIGURE 6), the concentric rings 72, 74 and 76 are formed as followsanexplanation in connection with ring 74 serving as a typical example ofthe other two rings 72 and 76. The ring 7.4- is for-med with a radiallyouter side wall 84- and ,a radially inner side wall 86 .forming an angleof approximately 90 with the outer wall 84. Thus, the ring configurationis such that an angle A and B are 45 as seen in FIGURE 6. The thicknessof the plasticside walls .84-and .86 are of an inch; whereas the Width.of .the connector ribs, such as 78,-are of an inch thick. Thesedimensions are designed to apply to the guard .ring 70 which has a:dimension C of twenty inches in :diameter across the outside ring 74.For strength purposes in .a guard ring 70 of the subject design,theintermediate .ring 76 should have an outer diameter D of eighteen andthree-fourths inches and the radially inner ring 72 should have an outerdiameter E of seventeen and one-half inches. In addition to the addedstrength and molding facility provided by the V-shaped configuration ofthe concentric rings, each ring should have a widthF-ofapproximatelyinch. The lower tip of the M shape should be formed with a radius G -ofof an inch. With the foregoing dimensions, a one-piece guard ring 70molded of polypropylene plastic will provide all of the :strengthnecessary to withstand the temperature and forces within the spin tub20.

The simplified molding process for making the guard ring is as follows.First, the polypropylene chips are retained within a hopper and fed to amelter where they are liquefied. Next, the liquefied plastic ishydraulically fed to a mold for forming the guard ring configurationshown. The mold may be cooled, as by water, to expedite the curingprocess and, when the mold is opened, the guard ring 70 may he removedas a onepiece integral unit suitable for installation in a-completedspin tub.

To install the. guard ring 70 in the spin tub 20, reference may be hadto FIGURE7. The flexible .or resilient guard ring 76 is simply graspedat opposite points on its peripheryand collapsed or deformed into theconfiguration .of FIGURE 7. The guard ring is slipped within the spin,ports 36. An upper annular flange on the tub bottom lays injuxtaposition tothe outflow ports 36 and serving ,as an abutment againstwhich the toe piece Sit-may terminate. When the ring'is snapped intoplace in the tub, .the top of the connector pieces 78 will bear againstthe shoulder 35of the tub rim housing 28. The installation isquickly-accomplished and a simple low cost guard ring is eifected whichis able to'perform the same task as the much higher stress metallicrings used in the prior art.

While the embodiments of the present invention as herein disclosed,constitute preferred forms, it is to be understood that other formsmight be adopted.

What is claimed is as follows:

In combination, a spin baskethaving a cylindrical, open- .end containerportion and a tub rim housing portion, said housing portion having anaccess opening smaller than the diameter ofsaid container portion and aported flange attached to said open end'ofsaid container portion, meansfor rotating said tub in a centrifuging operation, and a unitarycontractible means having a permanently joined circumferentialconstruction comprising a-plurality of concentrically arrangedcontinuous, V-shaped rings, and a plurality of integralconnector piecesfor holding said rings in spaced relationship to .each other .and tosaid ported .flange, said .contracti'ble means having a naturalconfiguration within said-basket in-front of said portedflange .and ininterlocking engagement therewith for preventing :a substance beingcentrifuged from blocking said ported flange, said c ontractible meansformed of .a ,plastic such as polypropylene which has a sulficientcharacteristic of resilience to enable said contractible means to bedeformed to an unnatural configuration for passing through said accessopening, the deforming of said contractible means eflecting a restoringforce in said .plastic to enable said contracti ble means to snap tosaid natural configuration, :said integral connector pieces having toeportions extending into said ported fiange for effecting saidinterlocking engagement therewith solely as a result of said restoringforce for supportingsaid contractible means in said spin basket whensaid contractible means snaps to its natural configuration.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES "PATENTS2,956,684 Johnston et al Oct. 18, 1960 2,964,192 Brown Dec. 13, 19602,966,061 Gerhardt Dec. 27, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 783,777 Great BritainOct. 2, 1957

